History of the Cima Coppi (1980-1989), the summit with highest altitude reached by cyclists during the Giro d’Italia, the Italian grand tour. Cima Coppi was established in 1965, five years after the death of the “Il Campionissimo” (champion of champions) Fausto Coppi.Continue reading Cima Coppi History (1980-1989)

Dura-Ace is the admiral ship of Shimano, the Japanese (now multinational) manufacturer of cycling components (and some other things like fishing tackle and rowing equipment). Here is a brief Dura-Ace history.Continue reading Dura-Ace History

In the late January 2014, Hampsten cycles launched two new road bike models under the same name: “Maglia Rosa”. Andy Hampsten, the first and only American to win the Giro d’Italia (in 1988, including the title of “Gran Premio della Montagna“, the Giro equivalent of Tour de France’s “King of the Mountains”), is a fan of Italian lifestyle and culture, and you can see this in the bikes that he produced (also in the model names).Continue reading “Maglia Rosa” by Hampsten Cycles

In the late 1980’s, an American team has started to shine in the European cycling scene: the 7-Eleven Cycling Team.

The 7-Eleven team founded by Jim Ochowicz, a former U.S. Olympic cyclist, in 1981. A few high-profile cyclists including Ron Kiefel, Sean Yates (former directeur sportif of Team Sky), Andrew Hampsten (1988 Giro d’Italia winner, also King of the Mountains, with 7-Eleven team), Davis Phinney (father of BMC Racing Team rider Taylor Phinney) rode for the American team. The team lasted 16 years (from 1990 to 1996 under the sponsorship of Motorola).Continue reading 7-Eleven’s Eddy Merckx bikes

The Tour de France is a ‘bigger’ race than the Giro. It has more media, more commotion, more people making demands on the cyclist’ waning energy. What it doesn’t have is the tifosi.(1)

I discovered my passion for cycling in a very late age. I always enjoyed riding my bicycle starting from my boyhood: I rode for commute, I rode for enjoyment, I even raced a couple of times. But I started riding a road bike in my early 30s. Then I started watching cycling races, and immediately fell in love with.Continue reading The greatest show on earth

Hampsten Cycles, LLC was founded in 1999 by Andy and Steve Hampsten, and building all frames in-house in Seattle, WA. They offer unique line of custom road frames and whole bikes.Continue reading Hampsten Cycles